Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) New toy

I was under the impression that BMW had standardised their cylinders (1.5 = 3 cylinders, 2.0 = 4 & 3.0 = 6) so don't understand why the 1.5 would be taller than the 2.0 or 3.0 ?

"dashing good looks and incisive intellect" oh well that's a busted flush on all fronts then

I only half agree. Yes there is no need for all the weight and bulk and complicated electronics to do everything from massage seats to map reading. If we got rid of all that junk then it would be far easier and cheaper to get 0-60 in 2.9 secs. I dont want the likes of a Saxo - I want fun and speed.

Doesn't it depend on what sort of journey you are embarking on ?

If I am doing an 800 mile day, the last thing I would want is a light fidgety, noisy car with harsh suspension and poor seats.

On the other hand if I am doing an early Sunday morning blast on some B roads light weight, responsive steering and some noise - just the job.

I wasn't suggesting an actual saxo or cortina with an electric motor

It was the ethos .... we've got so used to automotive obesity we hardly notice it now .... when you have a 'Mini' virtually the size of a Range Rover Evoque you know something's wrong. It's astounding when you see a classic car from our youth in modern traffic how dinky it looks .... it's only recently that average cars have become so lardy (there have always been the Mercedes Pullmans and RR Phantoms but they're not day to day cars) .... there's no reason with modern packaging, materials and design for a simpler, more compact and lighter car to be comfortable smooth and quiet .... yep, you can use the weight saved to keep an interesting level of performance, but honestly, 0-60 in under 3secs and a top end closer to 200mph than the ton is pointless in a car designed for day to day use on public roads .... 6secs and 120 mph would still be more than could sensibly be used day to day (and honestly beyond the ability of the majority of the road drivers you meet on a given journey to fully exploit) and by curbing the weight, complexity and wasted power we could have two good cars for the resources of the one lardy one with bragging level only numbers.

K

^^Totally agree with image.

Too big, too heavy, market and fashion driven.

For distance use the train. I always did. Sit in comfort, read the paper, have a meal. Perfect.

Or right now use a rental. You can do plenty of rentals before matching depreciation levels.

Otherwise a small light car should do the job unless you're seven foot tall and 25 stone. You know what I mean.

The ZF 8HP auto box used in the current CX cars has a hybrid variant already available. Click for details.



Wouldn't this be an easy first step for MMC if looking towards hybrid offerings

What a dull world it would be if we all had to drive 'cheap nimble cars' and wear hair shirts. There wouldn't be any Morgans for a start.

Tesla's are rather simple things as it happens - 200 moving parts, as opposed to 2,000 in a petrol one. However, I am not giving up my V8's.

From my post .... "if saving the planet is the aim" ..... 'cheap' is a relative term (and doesn't have to have the 'and nasty' tagged on the end ) .... the price of cars in the bracket I'm talking about is silly and reflects their designed-in (rather than inevitable) over-complexity and marketing-related 'luxury' specs.

Just saying that if you're a manufacturer who turns out lardy electric cars with all the bells, whistles and un-useable performance of the luxury spec gas guzzlers they're supposed to replace ..... don't bang on about the environment while polishing your 'planet-saver' halo.


K

Most EV's are not at all complex - a battery and an electric motor. The luxury part is merely the ability to control the car via a computer.... They are heavy (or 'lardy') because batteries are heavy. The performance is almost unavoidable with a 75kwh battery, it's inevitable.

I didn't buy mine to save polar bears - it's simply very tax efficient to buy and costs next to nothing to run.

They obviously annoy a certain type of person - and that's an added bonus.